Teenage girl who ran away with her teacher reveals what it was like when they were caught

“I couldn’t breathe and the only word I understood was ‘police’”

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When a 15-year-old ran away with her 30-year-old teacher Jeremy Forrest five years ago, a media frenzy ensued. He was called a paedophile and accused of abducting her.

But now 'Gemma' (not her real name) has shared her side of the story in an interview with Cosmopolitan and revealed what it was like when they were caught.

They grew close over months and Gemma says she became “obsessed” with Jeremy: “When I wasn’t with him, Jeremy was all I thought about, and I lived in constant fear that we’d be discovered.”

But rumours soon spread and Gemma started having panic attacks.

Four months after starting seeing each other, the police came. She denied everything and the next day, Gemma and Jeremy ran away together.

The couple fled to Bordeaux, but little did they know, they’d been caught on CCTV driving down to Dover.

At this point, there was a frenzy back in the UK - the media were reporting Jeremy was a paedophile who’d kidnapped Gemma. But in her eyes, she was his girlfriend.

They both tried to disguise themselves by dyeing their hair but it all ended after eight days in Bordeaux.

Jeremy and Gemma were caught whilst walking hand-in-hand. A man in plain clothes came out of nowhere and grabbed Jeremy. Gemma started screaming and begging strangers for help - she thought he was being mugged, not caught.

“I couldn’t breathe and the only word I understood was ‘police’,” she said. But then she too was grabbed.

It was the police, and as she was bundled into the back of a van, Jeremy mouthed, “It’s fine.” But the next time the couple would see each other would be in court.

French police officers asked if Gemma and Jeremy had had sex and whether she voluntarily went to France - she answered yes to both.

Having been caught, Gemma was kept in the embassy, where staff kept a very close eye on her in case she ran away. But, Gemma says, she was never going to do that - she felt relieved at no longer having to keep the secret.

When she returned to the UK, it was “impossible” for her to go back to a regular school and she went to a special institution alongside children with behavioural problems to finish her GCSEs.

At the same time as Gemma was taking her exams, Jeremy had his trial. He was found guilty of child abduction and sex with a minor, and sentenced to five-and-a-half years.

He served three and was released last August.

Gemma became depressed - her letters to him were intercepted and splashed across the news, and when she finally started dating another man, it turned out he was trying to sell stories about her.

Now he’s out of prison, Jeremy is dating someone else and Gemma has had another healthy relationship too, although she’s currently single.

Although she doesn’t regret what happened with Jeremy, she now sees it for what it was: “a dangerous infatuation. One that cost both of us dearly.”

The full story is in the July issue of Cosmopolitan, available today.